1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus an actuation mechanism and more particularly to a method and apparatus for an actuation mechanism used to form rigid attachments between two surfaces in a computing system environment.
2. Description of Background
Large computing system environments, such as servers computer systems, often are comprised of a number of assemblies. These assemblies can include a variety electronic components, such as daughter cards, logic elements and related elements that support logic entities, and mid-plane boards amongst others. The assemblies are designed such that they can be then inserted into a support rack or support frame.
The support rack or frame often has a cage like structure, with a plurality of vertically extending supports connecting to two or more horizontal rails to one another. Side and rear and/or front structural surfaces can also be optionally added to enhance structural rigidity or to accommodate the thermal interface subassemblies used to cool the computing system environment.
In order to insert the assemblies containing electronic components, the frame is often provided with mating interconnects that receive these assemblies. After they are plugged into their mating interconnects, the assemblies are then fixed, latched or mounted into a position using a number mounting devices to prevent relative movement. Operational vibration and shock as some examples, make it a necessity that these assemblies are mounted to avoid a number of issues such as potential functional problems such as intermittent due to connection wear.
The ability to rigidly attach these assemblies once they are plugged or placed into their mating interconnects, becomes a function of the substructures assembly tolerance as well as the tolerance of the frame and the ability to rigidly span that tolerance with a sufficiently rigid member.
It is undesirable to design mounting means that delivers loading or stresses to the interconnect system as it not only affect the structural integrity of the computing environment but it may potentially lead to performance problems. Similarly, any design does not address unbalanced loading of the frame and substructure is also undesirable for similar reasons.
A number of solutions are provided in the prior art to provide such mounting means. These include a variety of designs implementing springs and other elastic means as part of their incorporated solution. In instances when component mass and insertion forces are small, springs and other elastic mechanism have been successfully implemented by the prior art. Unfortunately, however, when the components and insertion forces are large and the packaging is tight, and the amount of spring deflection is large in order to accommodate the tolerance traditional approaches fall short and problems occur.
The challenge is to rigidly attach large components (such as those over 100 lbs), across large assembly tolerances (such as those that are over 2 mm) with sufficient clamping force and structural integrity to maintain the relative position of the components during exposure to routine shock and vibration testing to avoid any connection wear mechanism or relative motion between the two mating surfaces. Since prior art does not provide a solution, it is consequently desirable to provide a design that provide a solution to the problem.